Blood Pressure and Medication...

How much sodium are you ingesting? Are you getting enough potassium?

While your numbers aren't really scary yet there seems to be some family history which is why your Dr is probably anxious to control it. You may be able to get your numbers into the normal ranges just through lifestyle modification (regular physical activity, aim for 1,500mg sodium daily and shoot for 4,700mg or more of potassium daily) I've been able to significantly reduce the dosage of my meds and get numbers that are consistently in the healthy ranges but I'll be the first to admit 1,500 mg of sodium takes a fair bit of planning to hit.

Sounds like you should talk to your doctor about dosage if it's dropping you low and you feel "crappy".

For what it's worth, I'm on Losartan 50mg. Been on that dosage for a couple years; blood pressure meds for about five. Overall, I'm considered in excellent health, but continue to have prehypertension numbers, so I stay on the meds for now. I haven't experienced any side effects with Losartan. I did have a problem with another brand, dry cough, and had to switch.

As for allergies, I use a prescription, Nasonex. Best thing ever for me. None of the over-the-counter meds did much for my allergies.

I'm a firm believer in not taking medications unless needed, but sometimes you need the help.

i had elevated blood pressure.....as a kid though i had perfect bp.....so my mom was worried when i told her about my elevated bp....chalked it up to the laziness and the 'college diet' i was on ...... lol.....lots of microwaved/instant type food.....well...it's gone down now. but i've also started eating better. kicked the salt shaker.....i no longer drink bottled water. i do drink filtered water on ocassion.....also take garlic caplets daily...once a day with breakfast, and it seems to be helping.

my goto snack before bed/late evening is celery and peanut butter.....typically 3-4 stalks of celery and a tablespoon (weighed out with my digital kitchen scale) of peanut butter.

also have ditched the sugar bowl, and powdered coffee creamer....i am also down to 1 large cup of coffee per day, rather than 6 large cups.....lol...and now use a splash of half and half in the coffee, rather than cream/sugar....


garlic
apple cider vinegar (1 tablespoon mixed in 8 oz. of water.....twice daily))
bananas
celery
cucumber
melons
coconut water
cayenne pepper
honey
l-arginine - over the counter, down the vitamin aisle...

are all said to have blood pressure lowering properties...

btw, have you had an allergy test done, to see what you're allergic too? i used to have bad allergies, pre-myfitnesspal......but it's weird, since losing the 99 lbs....so far. i don't have as many flare ups.....unless i goto my mom's house, who has a lot of animals...the honey and apple cider vinegar are said to help alleviate allergy problems too.....

the bigest thing is, i wouldn't recommend taking more than one supplement at a time....try the garlic for a couple weeks.....under the dr.'s supervision...if that don't work, then try the l-arginine.....

obviously, if you start to get light headed....watch what you're eating.

how much WATER do you drink daily? not talking "liquid" but actual water......aim for half your current body weight, in fluid ounces....of water.....per day, as a minimum. i typically start my morning out with the 1 cup of water, and the tablespoon of apple cider vinegar.....you'd be amazed at how easy it is to drink water, if you spread it out through your day.

This sounds so familiar. I tried negotiating with my Dr to not go on BP meds. 6 months later with increased exercise and watching my diet, I still had trouble with my BP. There is something called Essential Hypertension. In my case, it means I don't have an underlying reason for high BP, I just do. Look it up on the Internet. I finally gave in and started taking Lisinopril. Some people will have allergies with meds, I was to Lisinopril. Like others mentioned, I had a dry cough and tired. I switched to Losartan and have had no problems. I exercise, did a half marathon, etc. I was concerned about side affects but things worked out. You still may have a chance to reduce the dosage with exercise and wt loss. Every individual is different. Good luck

There are a gazillion choices for hypertension meds out there, and no good reason to stay on one that makes you feel crappy or has other negative side effects.

I inherited high bp from my dad, it was creeping up by my early 30's. I am not overweight, am a non-drinker, eat low sodium because I grew up eating that way as a result of dad's hypertension, active daily -- the only lifestyle factor my doctor could hound me about at the time was smoking. I quit smoking and my bp didn't change. Then she got me to cut my coffee intake -- no change. Eventually I was put on a low dose thiazide diuretic. After about 10 years, bp started creeping up again, and Ramipril was added. That was a disaster. Although it brought down the bp nicely, it caused debilitating fatigue for me (apparently not a common side effect). Found out my dad was taking Atacand with great success, and it has been a success for me too... although the first 3 or 4 days were nasty (I was forewarned). Now I don't feel like a ticking time bomb

The condensed version of that is... If at first you don't succeed, try again.

I have chronic year-round allergies as well and stopped taking a combined antihistamine/decongestant when the bp problems started. I just take a straight antihistamine now.